Notizie

Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”

Eric Roberts appears early on in Shawn C. Phillips’ Amityville Bigfoot. He turns up at the derelict cabin that is purportedly a laboratory for Amityville Chemical and proceeds to dress everyone down for allowing Bigfoot to escape.

It’s not a great role and Roberts is very clearly playing Eric Roberts, but the over the top charisma (and chicklet teeth) of the slumming C-lister is enough to temporarily lift the latest Amityville film out of its doldrums and become something briefly interesting. Not necessarily something watchable, but at least a film that isn’t horrendously boring.

The same cannot be said for the non-Eric Roberts scenes. Phillips, a prolific Amityville contributor, takes a threadbare premise and, along with co-writer Julie Anne Prescott,...

Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”

After a number of bloated runtimes and technically inept entries, it’s something of a relief to watch Amityville Christmas Vacation (2022). The 55-minute film doesn’t even try to hit feature length, which is a wise decision for a film with a slight, but enjoyable premise.

The amusingly self-aware comedy is written and directed by Steve Rudzinski, who also stars as protagonist Wally Griswold. The premise is simple: a newspaper article celebrating the hero cop catches the attention of B’n’B owner Samantha (Marci Leigh), who lures Wally to Amityville under the false claim that he’s won a free Christmas stay.

Naturally it turns out that the house is haunted by a vengeful ghost named Jessica D’Angelo (Aleen Isley), but...

On November 13, 1974, at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville, New York, a young man named Ronald DeFeo woke up in the middle of the night, took up a shotgun, and went from room to room in his home, systematically murdering six members of his family. DeFeo was apprehended by the police. At first, DeFeo claimed the murders were mob-related, but he later confessed to committing the crimes himself. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for his crimes. DeFeo died in prison in 2021. 

DeFeo's murders became notorious with the publication of Jay Anson's nonfiction book "The Amityville Horror" in 1977. After the killings, the Lutz family moved into 112 Ocean Ave., and they claimed to experience a panoply of paranormal phenomena. Flies mobbed the building, and the entire Lutz family reported hearing eerie voices. George Lutz, the family patriarch, claimed to be possessed by a demonic presence that was driving him to kill his family.

Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”

One year after the release of Amityville Scarecrow, we get the sequel Amityville Scarecrow 2 (2022). Unlike other sequels in the “franchise,” however, this second entry boasts an entirely new creative team. Stepping in as director is Adam Cowie, while Craig McLearie takes over writing duties.

Amityville Scarecrow 2 picks up two years after the events of the first film. Adult sisters Tina (Amanda-Jade Tyler) and Mary (Kate Sandison) are no longer estranged, and they’re still aiming to re-open the cursed family campground, though they’re rapidly running out of money.

Mary’s daughter Harriet (Sofia Lacey) is also still around, though she confides in boyfriend Dylan (Dan Robins) that she’s ready to move on. She just can’t find the words to tell her mother.

Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”

The opening of Troma’s Amityville Vibrator tells you everything you need to know about the tone of the film: a title card reads June 6, 1976, 6:66am. In a green-lit room, a naked woman wearing a horned mask masturbates with a dildo. Moments later she is shot to death, a spray of blood and brains coating the wall. The green filter and the mask and horns are gone and all that’s left is the stark truth of a murder.

Then the film transitions into hand drawn credits, complete with stick figures and crude animated drawings.

Writer/director Nathan Rumler is far more self-aware than most of the preceding entries in the “franchise.” This is a film that is equal parts haunted...